Shifting weather on Canal du Midi

The 3rd of May started sunny and warm but grew darker and colder. But we warmed us with an interesting wine tasting at Commanderie Preissan, in the cellar of an impressive mansion.
We had a delicious French lunch on deck and then sailed along the canal to a small village. Now the sky opened itself and it poured down. The wind also picked up. So we stayed on the boat and cooked dinner and played games. Nice as well.
The next morning, the 4th of May, the weather was even worse. Very strong wind and torrential rain. We started driving West but after an hour or so the boat base called and warned that weather would turn really foul and that we should seek harbour. After a tough mooring manouver we found safe haven in Homps. More games, reading and socialising kept us busy. When you have such a nice bunch of people onboard the weather can't stop you from having fun. In the evening we ran through the storm to a restaurant for a great meal.
The next morning the sun was visible for a short time, the rain had stopped and the wind was somewhat weaker. Nice! So we continued Westwards through a number of cute villages. At every lock we were greeted by the lock dog who always seemed to be a very sociable four-legger.
The landscapes here are stunningly beautiful. Unfortunately due to the weather I don't have as stunning photos, but here are a few.
In the evening we reached Carcassone with it's large fortress. Of course we played the game Carcassone while being here :-)

Boating in the sun

Yesterday we got our new bikes! Classical Dutch style but with seven
gears. Today we arranged for an indoor parking space for mine on our
street, Femke already had one.
Now we are out in the lovely weather with my boat :-)

Amsterdam smiles with the sun

Boating

Today Femke and me took our first little ride in the boat for this year. Nice!

Last summer day in Amsterdam?

Today we had what might well be the last real summer day in Amsterdam. A bright sunny sky and temperatures above 25°C made me close the office early and go for a ride in my boat. It feels so luxurious to be able to do that, just decide that today, the weather is to good to sit indoors, lets take a spin on the canals :-)

In the evening, I met Femke on a terrace (Bloem) for an Al Fresco dinner. This was especially nice as she leaving tomorrow for a long weekend in Albania, visiting a friend.

Bar hopping in Utrecht

Utrecht is one of the Netherlands most charming cities. Not too big, it's medeival city center is made even more quaint by it's unique canals.

Here, they run up to five meter below street level, with wide quays lined with trees. These low-level promenades made it possible for the merchants of old to unload the barges straight into their basement warehouses. On top, at street level, they built beautiful townhouses.

Today, the quays are filled with terraces and buzzing with locals and
tourists alike, enjoying the beautiful settings. That's why I am here this weekend, to write a story about the bars and restaurants along the canals of Utrecht.

A lovely evening in the boat

Hanna & Maarten

Tonight, we took a relaxing boat tour together with Hanna and Maarten, two friends that recently moved to our part of Amsterdam. They brought pasta sallad and we brought drinks and strawberries - all very summery :-)

Tropenmuseum and more boating

Today was Anders last day here in Amsterdam, for this time. But since he flew late in the evening, we had time for some cultural activities in the form of a visit to the Tropenmuseum. Very interesting, I must say. Beautiful and modern exhibitions about the Netherlands colonial past and the countries involved. They also have a good restaurant there, where we had lunch.

We spent the afternoon in the boat again, sailing a long tour all the way to the western parts of Amsterdam, then back home to east to enjoy Femke’s lovely dinner.

It was nice having you here, Anders, come back soon!

Swedish friend visiting

De Druif

De Druif

Anders having a landing beer
on the beach at Wijk aan Zee

Wednesday evening, my old friend from Malmö, Anders (a. k. a. Bonen) arrived to Amsterdam for a five days visit. I am thrilled to have him over – not seeing friends and family so often is one of the flip sides of living abroad.

We kicked of his stay energetically with some paragliding at the coast, followed up by Indonesian food at Kadijk Café and then beer at oldstyle beer cafés Scharrebier and De Druif and alter the Groene Oliphant.
Next day, I had the pleasure of showing Bonen my Amsterdam from the water, taking a long ride with my boat.

Boating in the canals of Amsterdam

Back in Amsterdam again, I am greeted with very pleasant summer weather. So today, Femke and me spent a few hours touring the canals in my boat. We also stopped for a refreshing drink at a café in Westerdok.

Boating with friends

Kristen, a colleague to Femke, and her boyfriend Gero joined us today for a day out in the boat on the canals of Amsterdam. The sun was shining, the picnic tasty and the wine cool - what more can you want from life?

Tomorrow morning, Kristen and Gero are travelling to Austria to take a course in paragliding - exiting!
And we will have our neighbours over for a drink tonight, that is going to be nice.

Sailing on the canals

Today, the sun showed is warming face, so I walked down to my boat to take it for a spin on the canals. When I was ready with everything and slipped the mooring, it started to hail. Well, well, I sailed a bit down the canal to the local beer brewery and stopped there for a beer. They were full (a tourist group) so I sat down at the nice café next to it.

When the sun came out again, I went out to the boat and continued my little tour towards Entrepotdok and Artis. Within a few minutes, it was snowing…
I had a great time anyway. All the houseboat people waved to me, and I waved to two zebras and a pelican. They didn’t wave back. Probably, it’s no fun living in a zoo.

The boat worked excellent, and is now ready for the next sunny day. And I had a good afternoon :-)